China’s economy is closely connected with the world economy. Under the background that the “15th Five-Year Plan” has made clear provisions on expanding high-level opening up to the outside world, Henan enterprises are actively going overseas.
Starting from November, a special planning focusing on the stories of Henan enterprises going overseas will begin, demonstrating Henan’s determination to expand opening up.
The tears of the moon fell into the world and flowed into the longest river in the world – the Nile River in Africa.
Li Huali, general manager of Henan Nile Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd., and her team, with such a spirit of hard work, resilience, and accumulation, have opened up overseas markets with “Made in Henan” mining machinery, especially occupying a high share in the African market.
As a second-generation factory worker born after 1985, Li Huali majored in international business at university.
My parents were involved in the mining machinery industry, but most of their products were sold domestically.
Ten years ago, she met a senior official of the Sudanese government at an international mining conference.
The production line purchased by Sudan at that time was in trouble due to lack of spare parts, engineers and technicians.
Li Huali agreed to go to Sudan for inspection without hesitation.
At the suggestion of the local guide, she disguised herself and went to the Sudan gold mining area.
There are almost no women in the local mining area, let alone foreign women, but she goes forward bravely with the desire to sell “Made in Henan” to Africa.
Li Huali’s team relied on their professionalism and efficient maintenance of the production line and gained high trust from the local government.
She found that the local mineral resources were rich but the mining methods were primitive, and she firmly believed that her own machine could greatly improve the mining efficiency.
In 2016, Henan Nile Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. was registered and established. Li Huali felt that the name “Nile” symbolized bravery, hard work, and resilience.
The past 10 years have been a period of rapid development for the company.
Ten years ago, the export proportion of products was less than 10% and was sold indirectly through trading companies. Today, the export proportion reaches 90%, and it has a high market share in the African mining machinery market.
The key to opening up the African market lies in the talent chain, product chain and industrial chain layout.
The first is the overseas warehouse.
In 2020, the African overseas warehouse strategic project was launched, and 30,000 square meters of intelligent warehousing centers have been built in Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and other countries, establishing a one-stop service system of “front development and back warehouse” to shorten the delivery cycle for African customers by 60%.
It also established a vertical B2B e-commerce platform in the field of machinery, linking many machinery manufacturing companies in Henan to “gather together to go overseas.”
The second is the R&D center.
In 2024, an overseas experimental center will be established in Tanzania to carry out equipment localization adaptability testing and technology upgrades according to the African market environment, solve customer delivery and use pain points, and form a full-chain service system.
Then there is the machining center.
The company’s production bases are located in Gongyi, Yuzhou and other places in Henan Province. It plans to build a processing center in Kenya or Zambia before the end of this year to improve efficiency.
Today, Nile River’s overseas investment has accumulated to 600 million yuan, and its business covers more than 130 countries and regions around the world. Its revenue in 2024 will be approximately 1.8 billion yuan.
“Going out” is not smooth sailing. Chinese companies exploring overseas markets face challenges such as uncertain international trade rules, local understanding of Chinese manufacturing, and different trading habits.
Li Huali believes that “only when people have people can things be done.” The company has more than 100 overseas employees, most of whom are locals. She proposes the four-dimensional principles of tolerance, integration, becoming, and achievement to grow together with employees.
Overseas warehouses, R&D centers, and processing centers enrich the company’s “hard power”, while “soft power” is equally important.
Li Huali’s team clearly understands the principle of “customers first, quality first, integrity first”.
Because the slightly larger sand holes in the castings affected the recovery efficiency of gold mines, we voluntarily recalled more than 100 tons of castings, resulting in a loss of more than 1 million yuan, but we gained a sense of responsibility, reputation, and a larger market.
Li Huali said that they represent the image of Henan enterprises and even Chinese enterprises, and this sense of responsibility drives them forward.
At the same time, she felt empowered by her hometown of Henan.
Facing the future, the company will take digitalization as its transformation direction, deepen China-Africa technical collaboration and standard construction, promote the upgrade of Chinese manufacturing from “product output” to “value output”, and inject Chinese power into the high-quality development of the global industrial chain.
